KR20130093496A - Apparatus for conveying eggs - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for continuously distributing a flow of products, such as eggs, for example, during a transport direction T, during which the system is adapted to form a single row of products, respectively. A dispensing assembly having at least two feed channels extending into the chamber, at least the edge elements constitute the edges of these channels over a clear dispensing length, the edge elements being adjacent to and on the transport surface at the downstream end of the feed conveyor. And a controller for monitoring and controlling the distribution of products over the channels, based on the monitoring signals and the control signals, from the downstream end of the channels, only two products are simultaneously delivered to the conveyor and monitored Based on the signals and the control signals, the controller is subject to continuous adjustment Increase or decrease the speed of the conveyor.

Description

Apparatus for transporting eggs {APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING EGGS}

The present invention relates to a system and method for simultaneously transporting and dispensing a substantially continuous flow of products such as eggs. More particularly, the system is related as mentioned in the preamble of claim 1.

Such a system is known from US2009020395. In this system, at a set speed of the sorting conveyor, the supply of products such as eggs to the conveyor is readjusted. In the art in this field, roller conveyors are usually used for this route in the process of sorting eggs. As is generally known, these rollers form a row of continuous rollers and such a conveyor often contains several side by side rows. Each pair of rollers, one located behind the other, forms a transfer position for the egg. For optimal use of this machine, efforts are made to substantially provide an egg to each pair where a degree of filling of 100% is involved. Usually, on the supply side of such roller conveyors, endless conveyors are utilized. Thus, with this, to realize such a degree of filling, the eggs will be fed in a very flat, especially uniformly distributed manner. For this purpose, according to the invention of US2009020395, the following steps are taken.

Monitoring the flow of eggs with a camera above the feed

Then on the one hand, controlling the speed of the conveying belt

If required, when the supply is very large, for example, adding return belts to remove the remainder from the flow and then reintroducing it into the main stream.

The inevitable result of the controller is that the transfer positions are quite regular.

The apparatus according to the invention also relates to feeding and dispensing eggs from the flow of eggs as flat as possible on the next conveyor, hereinafter simply referred to as a conveyor. However, unlike the technique described above, the conveyor is not associated with the sorting machine but is associated with a packaging feed conveyor. This means that the eggs supplied are fed, dispensed and placed so that a flow of eggs is obtained and is suitable for properly and continuously filling the supplied packaging units. Generally known and utilized are trays or cartons with nests that are always completely filled during packaging. This also means that in situations such as those described in US2009020395, disordered flows, ie, most of the flow from the layered houses, are transformed into very orderly flows, but more importantly, the orderly flows to the conveyor 100 It means that it can not result in a degree of filling. In the art of this field, such conveyors are often called 'farmpackers'.

In order to eliminate the drawbacks outlined above, to provide the above-mentioned necessity, the system according to the invention is characterized in that the controller increases or decreases the speed of the conveyor in accordance with continuous adjustment, based on monitoring signals and control signals. It is done.

Thus, not only can advantageously obtain a degree of filling of 100%, but in particular the standstill of the conveyor is avoided in a wide range and a more efficient process takes place. Strictly stagnation often creates interruptions in the processing of large amounts of flow from poultry houses.

In the past, several solutions have been studied to eliminate this drawback. All these solutions in particular avoid the regular stopping of the conveyor. An example of this is described for example in NL7900665.

The invention is described, for example, also as follows: In a system for continuously dispensing a flow of products, for example eggs, on a conveyor, in the transport direction T during transport, the system is

A feed conveyor having a substantially flat conveying surface;

A dispensing assembly having at least two supply channels extending in the conveying direction T to form respective product rows;

A controller for monitoring and controlling the distribution of products on the mentioned channels;

Includes at least

The controller is configured to generate monitoring signals and control signals, the controller being configured to regulate the delivery of products (ie from channels to the first conveyor) based on the monitoring signals and control signals, in particular during use. The feed channels each deliver one product simultaneously to the first conveyor,

The controller is characterized in that it is designed to adjust the speed of the at least one conveyor, in particular depending on the product flow rate determined by the controller, according to the continuous adjustment based on the monitoring signals and the control signals.

Conveyors in which the speed can be adjusted under the influence of the controller can include, for example, a conveyor of the dispensing assembly, and for example the first conveyor mentioned (ie the discharge conveyor).

Further embodiments of the device according to the invention have one or more of the following features:

Surveillance system,

A flow gauge in which the flow rate of the products is measured at a specific position on the feed conveyor on the downstream side of the feed conveyor, the flow rate signals being calculated; And

At least one presence detector at which a presence signals are calculated downstream of the channel indicating the presence or absence of the product at the downstream end of the channel;

Including,

The flow gauge comprises a sluice, the sluice having substantially straight wall elements, which wall elements are located directly above the conveying surface of the feed conveyor and converge with respect to the conveying direction T,

Part of the flow of products is captured by the wall elements,

The wall elements are rotatable from the initial position at the minimum supply to the path position at the larger supply,

The flow rate is correlated and determined by the measured wall element positions and the speed of the transfer conveyor,

The feed conveyor comprises first and second sub-conveyors continuous in the conveying direction,

A first sub-conveyor extending partially below the flow gauge, and

A second sub-conveyor extending substantially down to the mentioned channels;

The dispensing assembly further comprises a bottom distribution plate of a fan-like configuration, the bottom distribution plate being disposed adjacent the transport surface and immediately above the transport surface directly downstream of the flow gauge, the bottom distribution plate being in each channel. Channel-shaped plate recesses.

The invention further comprises a method for operating the device according to the invention, the method comprising:

Measuring flow rate signals, and

Measuring presence signals,

Including,

At least above the predetermined threshold for flow rate signals, the speed of the at least one feed conveyor is increased or decreased individually, at a higher flow rate or at a smaller flow rate, with continuous adjustment.

The speed of only the second conveyor (eg the second sub-conveyor of the feed conveyor) can be increased or decreased. In addition, the speed of the feed conveyor can be the same as the speed of the (discharge) conveyor, for example.

What is obtained with great advantage is that not only the filling proceeds continuously, but also the processing and processing of brittle products is very calm.

The method according to the invention can also be defined as follows, for example. In the method for controlling the system according to the invention, the flow rate of the products to be supplied is determined, the presence of products in each of the channels is preferably detected, and the product flow rate determined by the controller is set to a predetermined flow rate threshold. When exceeding, the speed of at least one conveyor is in particular adjusted according to the continuous adjustment. Preferably, the speed is directly adjusted in proportion to the measured flow rate. For example, when the measured flow rate is below the threshold, the speed is not regulated and remains constant at a predetermined minimum value. Preferably, a flow gauge is used, the flow gauge is provided with movable wall elements, the relative position of the wall elements is detected and the position depends on the flow rate mentioned.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

Are included herein.

Further details and descriptions are given based on the following figures. The drawing is as follows:
1 is a schematic plan view of a system according to the invention; And
2 graphically illustrates an example of a control scheme with a particular type of egg flow.

In FIG. 1, the diagram of the system of the invention shows a plan view with a conveying direction T or a flow of eggs running from the bottom of the figure to the top of the figure. The system includes (discharge conveyor 4 described above).

A feed conveyor 1 having a substantially flat conveying surface for feeding products (eg eggs in this case) in a substantially horizontally and in a mutually disordered manner in the transport direction T,

A dispensing assembly having at least two feed channels 30 extending in the conveying direction T, respectively, to form a row of products, at least edge elements 31 being well -defined) constitute the edges of these channels 30 above the dispensing length and these edge elements 30 are arranged, for example, adjacent to and on the opposite transfer surface.

In use, from the downstream end of the channels (based on control signals and monitoring signals to be described later), the products are delivered simultaneously to the discharge conveyor 4 (when at least two separate channels 30 are given, One product per channel, for example at least two products at the same time).

In particular, during use, the eggs (not shown) are fed in an orderly manner by an endless belt 1 and the completely ordered ones on the rollers (not shown here) are provided in the packaging units (not shown here). It is used with conveyor 4 as packaging units. These conveying devices 1, 4 shown here are individually driven by drive 10 and drive 40 which are well known to those skilled in the art.

A feed conveyor 2 generally having a substantially flat conveying surface, for example in the form of a circular flat belt, feeds eggs along different parts of the distributing assembly 3. The feed conveyor 2 is arranged between the upstream circulation belt 1 and the downstream (discharge) conveyor 4.

In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the feed conveyor 2 is a first sub-conveyor with drive 200, like most circular flat belts, with drive devices known to those skilled in the art. two sub-conveyors comprising a sub-conveyor 20 and additionally a second sub-conveyor 21 having a drive 210 downstream.

The dispensing assembly 3 forms six channels 30a, b, and six channels 30 in the exemplary embodiment shown, in this context seven associated edge elements 31a, b. It includes.

From EP823208, for example, such channels 30 and edge elements 31 are known. Not only the details of the arrangement and formation of these elements in the publication, but also the manner of use, in particular its movements, are also described. Performing reciprocating motions or configurable vibrations substantially parallel to the conveying surface eliminates congestion in the flow and thus yields a smooth and continuous flow of eggs.

An important part of the system is the controller in which the surveillance system is provided. More particularly, the control of the flow of eggs involves monitoring and measuring this flow on the one hand and controlling the flow on the other side (ie with the detection results of such monitoring and measurement) on the other.

In such a monitoring system in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the controller comprises a flow gauge 5, and sensors 60, 61, in particular photocells, more particularly two rows of photocells; 60, 61).

More particularly, the flow gauge 5 measures the flow rate upstream of the feed conveyor 2, ie the number of eggs passing through the gauge 5 per unit time (at the location of the measurement surface). Provided for measurement. The flow gauge 5 used here is a conveying direction T (for example rotatably movable away from each other) which forms a passage for the eggs to be fed (on the feed conveyor 2). It includes a sluice with two walls 50a and b that converge on. Such a sluice has a minimum path. The water gate can be pushed against the walls 50a, b so that the eggs supplied during use can push the walls 50a, b out (for example against spring forces) out of the way, thus widening the path. It is configured to be. Thus, the size of the path depends on the amount and speed of the eggs coming in. In an exemplary embodiment, the placement of the walls 50a, b is determined with an inductive proximity sensor. Thus, with the signals obtained (from this sensor), in combination with the speed and additional data (of the feed conveyor) of the eggs, the flow rate or amount associated therewith can be determined.

Further downstream, the rows of photocells 60, 61 monitor whether the through-flow is sufficient or remains sufficient. More particularly, the most downstream position of each of the respective channels 30 is also monitored for continuous or non-continuous continuity of the rows of eggs within such channels 30. As in the figure, in this example, two photovoltaic cells 60, 61 per channel 30 are in two different positions (at a distance from each other, shown in the direction of travel T) of the channel 30. Are provided to monitor individual egg flows.

Depending on these monitoring signals (including signals generated by the flow gauge 5 and signals generated by the photo cells 60, 61), the control signals are, for example, second in increasing supply. By increasing the speed of the sub-conveyor 21 and simultaneously increasing the speed of the downstream conveyor 4, the downstream end of the channel 30 can be configured to be filled with eggs as much as possible.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the dispensing assembly further comprises a bottom distributing plate 7 in a fan-like configuration with plate recesses 71 in the shape of the channels. Include. This plate 7 is also provided directly above the conveying surface and the recesses 71 provide the formation of direct flows to the inlet openings of the channels 30a and b and the guidance of the eggs. In addition, inclined plates 8a, b are shown to supply the flow of eggs in a way further directed downstream to the plate 7.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many variations can be envisioned in the so-called 'design' and 'monitoring and control' arts, for example

Other sensors, for example a camera and a camera controller coupled thereto;

Presence sensors other than photovoltaic cells, for example electromechanical plates as switches;

Other plates, more particularly plates with different recesses and with very specially selected tilt angles, or pieces of material called islands according to WO2007117140;

Other combinations of photovoltaic cells, or omissions of the flow gauge, and combinations directed at different parts of the egg flow to which the camera is fed;

For example splitting the feed conveyor 3 into three sub-conveyors and subsequently restoring the plate 7 at the same time;

To measure egg weights and associated mass distributions for fine tuning of the control action.

In FIG. 2, an illustration shows the control scheme of the apparatus according to the invention.

In the two top graphs, the flow rate measurements are represented as a function of time, along with the flow rate measurement in seconds and the time in seconds. In the bottom graph, the speed of the second sub-conveyor is shown as a function of time in the same time interval.

More particularly, only flow rate measurements are shown in the upper graph. The middle graph is shown with the same curve as the upper graph and the horizontal line is called the threshold.

In the bottom graph, the speed is shown to be controlled according to the changing flow rate when the flow rate exceeds this threshold.

If the flow rate falls below the threshold, the velocity drops back to the threshold velocity.

Thus, in the example, the controller is configured to compare the detected flow rate with a predetermined flow rate threshold. If the controller determines that the flow rate does not exceed the predetermined flow rate threshold, the controller is configured to maintain it at a predetermined minimum speed value v _min without adjusting the speed (of the sub-conveyor 21). .

The controller is further configured to adjust the speed (of the sub-conveyor 21) if the controller determines that the flow rate exceeds the flow rate threshold. Adjustment includes, for example, direct speed adjustment in proportion to the flow rate, starting at the minimum speed value. In this case, the velocity v (t) at time t is:

v (t) = v _min + CF (t)

Where C is a constant and F (t) is the flow rate at time t.

In the example according to FIG. 2, the presence of eggs (in the channels) is each time determined by the photovoltaic cells 60 in the first row. The absence of eggs in the second row of photo cells 61 does not move any part within the current controller.

In addition, the speed of the downstream conveyor 4 in the controller selected here is coupled to that of the second sub-conveyor 21. In practice this means that the speeds of the conveyors 21, 4 have a fixed ratio and are thus adjusted above the threshold point indicated (in the manner described above). Usually, this ratio is not equal to one. For example, the speed of the flat sub-conveyor 21 will be slightly higher than that of the conveyor 4 to still maintain sufficient pressure with this flat belt.

As indicated, flow rates are monitored in a continuous manner while shutdown of the system can be avoided in this situation.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that additional variations and combinations may be possible that are considered to be included within the scope of protection of the appended claims.

1: circulation belt
2: feeding conveyor
3: dispensing assembly
4: discharge conveyor
5: flow gauge
7: floor distribution plate
8a, 8b: plate
10, 40: drive unit
20: first sub-conveyor
21: second sub-conveyor
30a, 30b: channel
31a, 31b: edge elements
50a, 50b: wall
60, 61: sensor
71: recess
200, 210: drive unit
T: feed direction

Claims (15)

In a system for continuously dispensing a flow of products, for example eggs, on a conveyor, in the transport direction T during transport,
Before the conveyor the system is
At least one feed conveyor having a substantially flat transfer surface for feeding products in a disordered manner and substantially horizontally in the transfer direction (T);
A dispensing assembly having at least two supply channels extending in the conveying direction T to form a single row of products, respectively, wherein at least the edge elements constitute the edges of the channels over a clear dispensing length and the edge elements Disposed downstream of and above the transfer surface at a downstream end of a feed conveyor; And
A controller for controlling and monitoring the distribution of the products on the channels, during use, monitoring signals and control signals are calculated and based on the monitoring signals and control signals, from the downstream end of the at least two channels. At least two products are delivered to the conveyor at the same time;
Includes at least
Based on the monitoring signals and the control signals, the controller adjusts the speed of the conveyor in accordance with continuous adjustment. The method of claim 1,
On the upstream side of the feed conveyor, a monitoring system is provided comprising a flow gauge configured to measure the flow rate of products at a specific location on the feed conveyor and to calculate flow rate signals. 3. The method of claim 2,
The surveillance system is further provided with at least one presence detector downstream of the channel and the presence signals are calculated indicating the presence or absence of the product downstream of the channel. The method according to claim 2 or 3,
The surveillance system is further provided with two spaced apart presence detectors per channel. 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The flow gauge comprises a sluice, the sluice having substantially straight wall elements, in particular means for detecting the position of the wall elements, the position of the wall elements during use being dependent on the flow rate of the products. Dependent system. The method of claim 5,
The wall elements are located directly above the conveying surface of the feed conveyor and converge with respect to the conveying direction (T). The method according to claim 6,
The wall elements are rotatable from an initial position at a minimum supply (ie, a first relatively low flow rate) to a path position at a larger supply (ie, at a second flow rate higher than the relatively low flow rate), and The flow gauge is configured to determine the flow rate in particular based on measured wall element positions in combination with the speed of the feed conveyor. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The feed conveyor comprises first and second sub-conveyors continuous in the conveying direction, the first sub-conveyor extending upstream of the channels as below some of the flow gauges, the second sub-conveyor System extending substantially below the channels. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The dispensing assembly further comprises a bottom dispensing plate, the bottom dispensing plate being provided adjacent to and directly above the conveying surface, for example directly downstream to the flow gauge. A system comprising channel-shaped plate recesses in respective channels. Measuring flow rate signals; And
Measuring presence signals;
Includes at least
The speed of at least one conveyor, such as at least one feed conveyor, at least above a predetermined threshold for the flow rate signals, increases individually, at a higher flow rate or at a smaller flow rate, with continuous adjustment. 10. A method for controlling a system according to any one of claims 1-9. The method of claim 10,
The speed of the second conveyor alone is increased or decreased. The method according to claim 10 or 11,
The speed of the feed conveyor is substantially the same as the speed of the conveyor. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
The speed of the conveyor is increased when the product flow rate exceeds a predetermined threshold and remains constant at a minimum when the product flow rate is lower than the threshold. 14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13,
For the case where the measured product flow rate is higher than the threshold value, the adjustment of the conveyor speed is substantially performed based on the following equation,
v (t) = v _min + CF (t)
v (t) is the feed rate, C is a constant, v _min is the predetermined minimum feed rate and F (t) is the product flow rate measured at time (t). 15. The method of claim 14,
The conveyor speed is unregulated if the measured product flow rate is lower than the threshold.

Images